Curtains Come Down At Zanzibar International Film Festival 2010
ZANZIBAR – ZIFF 2010 drew to a close on Sunday with the sneak preview of Nisha Ligon’s Twiga Stars, a brave and revealing documentary about Tanzania’s all women football team. The audience loved the film and laughed and cried as the footballers lives unfolded on the big screen. Exploring themes of feminism, equality, poverty and self-belief, Twiga Stars was a powerful reminder of the role ZIFF can play in Zanzibar as a vehicle for change.
Twiga Stars
The closing ceremony and awards night was a huge success…with a soaring duet from Rogers Lucas and Jeremy Danneman, a funky dance from the B 6 Boys and a wonderful kids fashion show inspired by the Color Bash exhibition. There were of course lots of very happy film makers too coming up to the podium to accept their Dhow prizes. Ndoto za Elibidi, a wonderfully funny and touching film with a strong HIV message scooped 4 prizes in total, Pumzi, the beautifully crafted sci-fi short film won the Special Jury prize and South African Themba, inspiring tale about a young man overcoming many odds to fulfill his dreams, won Best Film.
Although not in competition- the Tinga Tinga Tales, a Kenyan/British co-production animation that was screened every evening was a huge hit with the kids and kicked off each night on a high. Look out for an illicit bootleg remix of the theme tune, which has been doing the rounds.
Another highlight this year was the Children and Film Panorama, which had one of its most successful years with over 200 school children attending every day. A big thanks to all the staff and volunteers who worked so hard to make it a success.
So…the ZIFF office is eerily quiet now and almost back to its core staff. They had so many brilliant young volunteers from Tanzania, Zanzibar and the rest of the world flooding in to help out at the festival. After a short, much needed break, the ZIFF team will start all over again, shaping and preparing next year’s festival! The theme for the 2011 Zanzibar International Film Festival is A Season Of Visions….check back soon for film submission details.
